Back to results

Linux Auditd Auditd Daemon Abort

The following analytic detects the abnormal termination of the Linux audit daemon (auditd) by identifying DAEMON_ABORT events in audit logs. These terminations suggest a serious failure of the auditing subsystem,…

Description

The following analytic detects the abnormal termination of the Linux audit daemon (auditd) by identifying DAEMON_ABORT events in audit logs. These terminations suggest a serious failure of the auditing subsystem, potentially due to resource exhaustion, corruption, or malicious interference. Unlike a clean shutdown, DAEMON_ABORT implies that audit logging may have been disabled without system administrator intent. Alerts should be generated on detection and correlated with DAEMON_START, DAEMON_END, and system logs to determine root cause. If no DAEMON_START follows soon after, or this pattern repeats, it indicates a high-severity issue that impacts log integrity and should be immediately investigated.

Detection logic

Detection requirements

Platform
Linux

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.

Log source category
linux_auditd_daemon_abort

Known benign triggers

  • Administrator or network operator can use this application for automation purposes. Please update the filter macros to remove false positives.

Detections can measure how the public catalogue is used — which detections people look for, and which pages bring them here. It sets a cookie that recognises this browser for 180 days. It is never linked to an account and never follows you to other sites. Privacy notice